Driven by Compassion

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2-15-15Moses: A Reluctant Hero

Driven by Compassion

INTRO

What do you want to be your epitaph? I heard about one wealthy man whose will left everything to his secretary. Needless to say his wife wasn’t very happy; so she added something to his tombstone. Under the words “Rest in Peace” she had engraved, “Until We Meet Again!” One of the cleverest epitaph’s I’ve ever heard of was this—“I left a million dollars under the..."

There are many things a person can be remembered for: veteran, pillar of the community, beloved husband or wife, father or mother. But a Christian could seek nothing higher than Moses’ epitaph found in Joshua 1:1 where it says, After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord… Serving the Lord is the highest calling anyone can pursue; and it is the calling of every person who claims to be a follower of Jesus.

• Jesus said in Matthew 20:28 that He came to serve not to be served.
• In John 13, after washing His disciples’ feet as an act of humble service, Jesus instructed them to serve each other.
• Paul told us in Galatians 5:13 to “serve one another in love.”

This morning we are beginning a series of messages on the life of Moses. Moses’ name is prominent in the list of the heroes of the faith found in Hebrews 11; but Moses was a reluctant hero. As we examine his life we are going to see why he earned his epitaph, “Moses, the servant of the Lord.” For the next several weeks we are going to focus in on lessons from Moses: A Reluctant Hero.

TEXT

As I said, our reluctant hero Moses is listed among the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11. Let’s look at v. 24-26. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.Hebrews 11:24-26

First let’s look at…

The Price Moses Paid to be the Servant of the Lord

•It cost Moses PRESTIGE.

Movie adaptations of the story of Moses have often portrayed him as being raised right alongside Pharaoh’s son. Some have suggested that Pharaoh had no sons, so Moses may have been heir to the throne.

There is no biblical or historical proof for these ideas, although one historian does place Moses as a great general over the army of Egypt.

At the very least Moses was raised in the royal household of Pharaoh as an adopted grandson, complete with all the prestige that goes with being royalty; but Moses walked away from that prestige to live up to the even more prestigious title, “The Servant of the Lord.”

Moses had to sacrifice whatever prestige came from living as royalty in order to be “the servant of the Lord.” He refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 2nd…

•It cost Moses PLEASURE.

The text says… He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

As a member of Egypt’s royal family, Moses would have had the pleasures of his day at his fingertips—rich foods, the best clothes, the best of everything. Yet once he received the high calling of being a servant of the Lord—a calling shared by all of us who have become part of God’s household of faith—once he received this high calling, temporary pleasures didn’t have the same influence on Him.

I don’t know about you, but I am amazed at how often momentary pleasures can drive me to risk long-term satisfaction in life. That has been the strategy of the enemy since the Garden of Eden—to get us to trade long-term satisfaction for temporary pleasures—to trade the eternal for the immediate. Moses chose wisely this time. He was willing to sacrifice the immediate for the big picture. It cost him prestige. It cost him pleasure. And…

•It cost Moses POSSESSIONS.

The text says… He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt…

The Egypt of Moses’ day was by far one of the richest nations in all of history. The people had to surrender their wealth, their livestock, and even their land to the government of Egypt during the time of Joseph just to purchase grain to survive the famine.

The wealth of the royalty of Egypt at the time of Moses was unprecedented. It would have been mind boggling; but Moses surrendered his opportunity to be wealthy in order to serve the Lord. He did it because he knew something. Moses knew the rewards of a servant are FUTURE. The last part of v. 26 says… he was looking ahead to his reward.

Servants’ rewards are in the future. Sometimes, the future is only a few days, months, or years away; and sometimes the future is a lifetime away; but servants aren’t focused on rewards. They serve and let the rewards take care of themselves. Moses found his motivation in something besides prestige, pleasure, or possessions.

Moses’ Service was Driven by Compassion

Look at Exodus 2:11. It says… One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people.

The first thing I notice is that…

•Compassion INCREASES with maturity.

The text says… after Moses had grown up. Acts 7 indicates that Moses was about 40 years old when he took notice of his people. Compassion is a sign of maturity.

Children don’t seem to be very compassionate. They may feel sorry for a moment if they do something to hurt you, but quickly they become focused on themselves and whatever they are doing. It takes someone with a measure of maturity to stop what he or she is doing in order to help someone else who is hurting.

Notice I said compassion increases with maturity, not necessarily with age. Compassion is not a guarantee of age. A lack of compassion is not just a personality trait; it is a sign of self-centeredness and immaturity. It took awhile for Moses to become compassionate, but …after Moses had grown up… he was driven by compassion. 2nd…

•Compassion requires INVOLVEMENT.

You cannot have compassion for people and stay comfortably removed from them. Notice the text says Moses… went out to where his own people were and watched them. Moses was willing to take the time and the effort to go see what was really going on in people’s lives. He was isolated in his own little royal world, buffered from most of the suffering of life just outside the palace walls.

Have you put up a buffer between you and the suffering of the “real world?” Of course you have—we all have. It is overwhelming to constantly look at the hurt and pain of people. Yet if we are going to be servants who are driven by compassion, we have to get into people’s lives. That can be uncomfortable. It can be messy. People’s lives are rarely clean and tidy, but compassion requires involvement. And…

•Compassion requires INDENTIFICATION.

The turning point for Moses is seen at the very end of the verse. It came when he realized that the people who were slaving away building the pyramids, the people who were being abused and beaten by the task-masters were… his own people. Moses could serve with compassion when he identified with the people he would serve.

If we are going to be driven by compassion in our service, we are going to have to realize that the people we serve are our “own people.” They are no different than you or me. True, they may come from different family backgrounds, they may come from different socio-economic, they may even have made some unfortunate choices in life that we haven’t made; but we serve our “own people.” They are human beings, created in the image of God. They are fellow travelers, walking through life on a planet scarred by sin. They are fellow-sinners, heirs to the sin nature of Adam, enslaved by our nature to go our own way rather than God’s way. Until you identify with those you serve—until you get involved with them; you will not serve out of compassion. So…

What Drives Your Service?

•Is your service driven by guilt?

Hebrews 10:11 says… Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

The picture here is of a Jewish priest who served day after day in the temple. Over and over he offered the same sacrifices to ease guilt. Over and over people brought their lambs to try and cover the guilt of their sin. Over and over the priests offered those lambs only to have the same people come back again and again. Why? These sacrifices might ease their guilt for a while, but they weren’t an answer for sin. The answer for sin was the ultimate sacrifice—the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

Sometimes we serve so we can ease our guilt. We figure if we do something good for someone else it will make us feel better about the things we have done that have hurt someone else. But understand something… Guilt-driven service will never give you PEACE. You can never do enough. You can never make up for the depth of your sin.

To be free from guilt you have to trust in the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God. Stop trying to earn your peace by serving others. Jesus paid the price of peace on the cross.

•Is your service driven by what you gain?

Some serve because they think fair is fair—people serve me so I need to serve them to pay them back. Listen to what Jesus thought about this type of service. Luke 6:32-35 says… 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Gain-driven service isn’t service; it’s PAYMENT.

•Is your service driven by duty?

Sometimes we serve out of duty. We serve because Christians are supposed to serve. Sometimes I think we have given “duty” a bad name. There is nothing wrong with serving out of duty and loyalty. Jesus did. In John 6:38 He said… For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

Loyalty and duty were part of the motivation for Jesus; but notice I said “part of the motivation.” While I believe there is nothing wrong with fulfilling our duty—Duty-driven service will feel INCOMPLETE. You see, a further question needs to be answered.

•Is your service driven by compassion?

Over and over in the gospels you see that Jesus was motivated by compassion. Compassion is not pity or sympathy or even mercy. The Greek word that is translated here “compassion” means to be moved deep inside—it is a form of a word for internal organs—in your gut. Compassion is not only in your head—you have to invest more than that. It is felt deep inside.

Webster defines “compassion” assuffering with another. It is reflected in Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12:26 where he says about the body of Christ that… If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. Compassion is painful; but compassion-driven service defines trueSERVANTS.

CONCLUSION

If you are going to have the same epitaph Moses had—if you are going to be called “the servant of the Lord—if you are going to hear at the end, “Well done good and faithful servant;” then your service needs to be driven by compassion just like Moses our reluctant hero.